Liquid container with storage compartment

ABSTRACT

A liquid container includes the first compartment configured to hold a liquid, the second compartment separated from the first compartment, the first wall structure surrounding the first compartment, the second wall structure separating the second compartment from the first compartment, the first opening formed at a top portion of the liquid container and exposing the first compartment, the second opening formed at a bottom portion of the liquid container and exposing the second compartment, the first cap configured to engage the top portion of the liquid container to seal the first opening and the first compartment, and the second cap configured to engage the bottom portion of the liquid container to seal the second opening and the second opening.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit thereof from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/161,967 titled “CUP AND BOTTLES”filed Mar. 20, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to containers in general. More particularly, thedisclosure relates to a liquid container having a separate storagecompartment.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Medicines, nutritional supplements, sports supplements, drink flavoringsand/or the like are frequently manufactured and sold in the form of apowdered mix. In particular, they are sold in convenient packets orcontainers. Sometimes as single use packets or containers. The use ofthese powdered mix products requires a liquid (e.g., water, juice, milk,beverage and/or the like) and a mixing/drinking vessel (e.g., a cup, abottle and/or the like). Moreover, typically the mix products are keptseparate from the liquid until the user is ready consume. Thus, powderedmix products are not particularly convenient for situations for a useras the powdered mix must be carried separately from the liquid and/or adrink vessel. This is bothersome when a user wants to workout, hike,and/or exercise and desires not to be encumbered with many items tocarry. Similarly, it is bothersome when a user wants to workout, hike,and/or exercise, and desires not to be encumbered with many items tocarry, yet needs to carry a beverage and some personal items (e.g.,keys, identification, money, and the like.).

Accordingly, there is a need for a storage compartment in a drinkingvessel for storing personal items, powdered or non-powdered mixes and/orthe like.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a liquid containerincludes the first compartment configured to hold a liquid, the secondcompartment separated from the first compartment, the first wallstructure surrounding the first compartment, the second wall structureseparating the second compartment from the first compartment, the firstopening formed at a top portion of the liquid container and exposing thefirst compartment, the second opening formed at a bottom portion of theliquid container and exposing the second compartment, the first capconfigured to engage the top portion of the liquid container to seal thefirst opening and the first compartment, and the second cap configuredto engage the bottom portion of the liquid container to seal the secondopening and the second opening.

At least one of the first and second caps may be re-sealable. Each ofthe first and second caps may be a tab, a crown cork, a screw cap, apull-off cap, flip-top cap or a snap-fit cap. The second compartment maybe configured to store one or more pouches containing powdered mix.

The first wall structure may include a bottom wall, and the secondopening may be formed at the bottom wall. The second wall structure maybe connected to the first wall structure at the bottom wall around thesecond opening. The bottom wall may be recessed. The second cap maysubstantially entirely cover the bottom wall of the liquid container.

The second opening may have a triangular, square, rectangular,pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, circular or ellipticalshape. The second wall structure may have a spherical, cubical, prism,cylindrical, conical or pyramid shape.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a liquid containerincludes an outer wall structure having the first opening and the secondopening, an inner wall structure connected to the outer wall structureat the second opening, a liquid compartment surrounded by an innersurface of the outer wall structure and an outer surface of the innerwall structure and exposed by the first opening, and a storagecompartment surrounded by an inner surface of the inner wall structureand exposed by the second opening.

The first opening may be formed at a top portion of the outer wallstructure and the second opening is formed at a bottom portion of theouter wall structure. The liquid container may further include the firstcap configured to engage the top portion of the outer wall structure toseal the first opening, and the second cap configured to engage thebottom portion of the outer wall structure to seal the second opening.At least one of the first and second caps may be re-sealable. Thestorage compartment may be configured to store one or more pouchescontaining powdered mix.

The bottom portion of the outer wall structure may include a bottomwall, and the second opening may be formed at the bottom wall. Thebottom wall may be recessed. The second cap may substantially entirelycover the bottom wall. The inner wall structure may be connected to theouter wall structure at the bottom wall around the second opening. Theinner wall structure may be spaced apart from the outer wall structureexcept for the connection therebetween at the bottom wall around thesecond opening.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure maybe set forth or apparent from consideration of the following attacheddetailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is to be understood thatboth the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following attacheddetailed description are exemplary and intended to provide furtherexplanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure andtogether with the detailed description serve to explain the principlesof the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of thedisclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamentalunderstanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may bepracticed.

FIG. 1A shows a side view a liquid container with a storage compartmentconstructed according to the principles of the disclosure;

FIG. 1B shows an exploded perspective view of the liquid container ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A shows a side view of another liquid container with a storagecompartment constructed according to the principles of the disclosure;

FIG. 2B shows an exploded perspective view of the liquid container ofFIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of another liquid container with astorage compartment according to the principles of the disclosure;

FIG. 3B shows a side view of the liquid container of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C shows a side cut view of the liquid container of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 3D shows a perspective view of a main body of the liquid containerof FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3E shows a side view of the main body of FIG. 3D;

FIG. 3F shows a side cut view of the main body of FIG. 3E;

FIG. 3G shows a perspective view of a top cap of the liquid container ofFIG. 3A;

FIG. 3H shows a side view of the top cap of FIG. 3G;

FIG. 3I shows a side cut view of the top cap of FIG. 3H;

FIG. 3J shows a perspective view of a bottom cap of the liquid containerof FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3K shows a side view of the bottom cap of FIG. 3J

FIG. 3L shows a side cut view of the bottom cap of FIG. 3L; and

FIG. 3M shows a bottom view of the bottom cap of FIG. 3J.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments of the disclosure and the various features andadvantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference tothe non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/orillustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the followingattached description. It should be noted that the features illustratedin the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of oneembodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisanwould recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions ofwell-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as tonot unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. Theexamples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understandingof ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enablethose of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure.Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construedas limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined solely by theappended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that likereference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

FIG. 1A shows a side view a liquid container 100 constructed accordingto the principles of the disclosure. FIG. 1B shows an explodedperspective view of the liquid container 100 of FIG. 1. Referring toFIGS. 1 and 2 concurrently, the liquid container 100 may be a reusableor disposable bottle. The liquid container 100 may be formed of glass,clay, plastic, aluminum, a synthetic material and/or the like. Theliquid container 100 may have two or more compartments (e.g., a maincompartment 110 and a storage compartment 120), an outer wall structure130, an inner wall structure 140, a top cap 150, a bottom cap 160 and/orthe like.

The main compartment 110 may be used to store a liquid, such as, e.g.,water, milk, soft drinks, sports drink, beer, wine, cooking oil,medicine, shampoo, ink, chemicals and/or the like. The main compartment110 may also store a non-liquid material, such as, e.g., a gas, powder,flavors, vitamins, medicines, personal documents, keys and/or the like.The storage compartment 120 may be used to store one or more items, suchas, e.g., one or more pouches 170A, a driver license 170B and/or thelike, that may need to be separated from the content of the maincompartment 110. For example, the liquid container 100 may be used as acontainer for a drink product, e.g., medicines, sport drinks, softdrinks, alcoholic beverages and/or the like. A liquid may be containedin the main compartment 110. The storage compartment 120 may store oneor more pouches 170A containing powdered mix. To serve the drink, a usermay remove the bottom cap 160, take out one or more of the pouches 170Afrom the storage compartment 120, open the pouches 170A, remove the topcap 150, pour the powdered mix into the main compartment 110, close thetop cap 150 and shake the container 100 to mix the powdered mix with theliquid in the main compartment 110. By storing the pouches 170A withinthe liquid container 100, the users may instantly access the powderedmix, the liquid and the mixing/drinking vessel, and the users mayconsume the powdered mix drink anywhere and anytime. Further, by storingthe powdered mix in the pouches 170A, the powered mix may stay fresh fora longer period time and may be less susceptible to staleness,deterioration and/or the like.

Alternatively or additionally, the storage compartment 120 may be usedto temporarily store one or more small items, such as, e.g., a driverlicense 180B, an ID card, a credit card, a ticket, cash and/or the like.This may be beneficial when the user goes running, hiking, swimming,tanning, exercising and/or the like and it is not desirable to carry anextra bag. For security reasons, at least one of the inner and outerwall structures 130, 140 may be translucent or opaque such that thecontents of the storage compartment 120 may not be identifiable.Alternatively, both the inner and outer wall structures 130, 140 may betransparent such that a user can see through the inner and outer wallstructures 130, 140 and identify the contents of the storage compartment120.

The outer wall structure 130 may surround the main compartment 110 andhave a top opening (not shown) at the top portion thereof to expose themain compartment 110. To seal the top opening, the top cap 150 mayengage the top portion of the main compartment 110. The top cap 150 maybe any type of resealable or non-resealable closure, such as, e.g., atab, a crown cork, a screw cap, a pull-off cap, flip-top cap, a snap-fitcap and/or the like.

In addition to the top opening, the outer wall structure 130 may have abottom opening 136 at the bottom portion thereof to expose the storagecompartment 120. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the outer wallstructure 130 may have a bottom wall 132 and the bottom opening 136 maybe formed at the bottom wall 132. The bottom wall 132 may be recessed asshown in FIG. 1B and surrounded by a rim 134, which protrudes downwardlyfrom the circumference of the bottom wall 132 and encircles the bottomwall 132.

The bottom cap 160 may engage the bottom portion of the main compartment110 to seal the bottom opening 136. The bottom cap 160 may be any typeof resealable or non-resealable closure. For example, the bottom cap 160may be configured to fit the rim 134 such that the bottom cap 160 may bepushed into and pulled from the space surrounded by the rim 134.Alternatively, the bottom cap 160 may be a tab, a screw cap, a flip-topcap and/or the like. The bottom cap 160 may substantially entirely coverthe bottom wall 132, as shown in FIG. 1A.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the bottom opening 136 may be a rectangular shapeand extends along the diameter of the bottom wall 132. Other shapes arecontemplated for the bottom opening 136. For example, the bottom opening136 may have a triangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal,octagonal, circular or elliptical shape. The bottom opening 136 may belarge enough to insert the contents, such as, e.g., the pouches 170A,the driver's license 170B and/or the like therethrough.

The inner wall structure 140 may separate the storage compartment 120from the main compartment 110. As shown in FIG. 1B, the inner wallstructure 140 may extend from the bottom wall 132 around the opening 136towards the top portion of the liquid container 100. The inner wallstructure 140 may be connected to the outer wall structure at the bottomwall 132 around the opening 136. The main compartment 110 may besurrounded by an inner surface of the outer wall structure 130 and theouter surface of the inner wall structure 140. The storage compartment120 may be surrounded by the inner surface of the inner wall structure140. The inner wall structure 140 may have a substantially cuboid (e.g.,box) shape as shown in FIG. 1B. Other shapes are also contemplated, forexample, a spherical, prism, cylindrical, conical or pyramid shape. Thesize and shape of the second opening 136 and the inner wall structure140 may vary depending on the contents to be stored in the storagecompartment 120. For example, the storage compartment 120 may beconfigured to be smaller or larger, thereby increasing or decreasing thecapacity of the main compartment 110.

FIG. 2A shows a side view of another liquid container 200 with a storagecompartment constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.FIG. 2B shows an exploded perspective view of the liquid container ofFIG. 2A. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B concurrently, the liquid container200 may have a similar construction to the liquid container 100 shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B. For example, the liquid container 200 may include twoor more compartments (e.g., a main compartment 210 and a storagecompartment 220), an outer wall structure 230, an inner wall structure240, a top cap 250, a bottom cap 260 and/or the like. The maincompartment 210 may be used to store a liquid and the storagecompartment 220 may be used to store one or more items that may be needto be separated from the content of the main compartment 210.

The outer wall structure 230 may surround the main compartment 210 andhave a top opening (not shown) at the top portion thereof to expose themain compartment 210. To seal the top opening, the top cap 250 mayengage the top portion of the main compartment 210. Further, the outerwall structure 230 may have a bottom opening 236 at the bottom portionthereof to expose the storage compartment 220. For example, as shown inFIG. 2B, the outer wall structure 230 may have a bottom wall 232 and thebottom opening 236 may be formed at the bottom wall 232. The bottom wall232 may be recessed and surrounded by a rim 234, which protrudesdownwardly from the circumference of the bottom wall 234 and encirclesthe bottom wall 232. The bottom cap 260 may engage the bottom portion ofthe main compartment 210 to seal the bottom opening 236, as noted above.The top cap 250 and/or the bottom cap 260 may be any type of resealableor non-resealable closure.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the bottom opening 236 may be a circular shape andlocated at the center portion of the bottom wall 232. Other shapes andlocations are contemplated, as noted above. The inner wall structure 240may separate the storage compartment 220 from the main compartment 210.The inner wall structure 240 may extend from the bottom wall 232 aroundthe opening 236 towards the top portion of the liquid container 200. Theinner wall structure 240 may be connected to the outer wall structure230 at the bottom wall 232 around the bottom opening 236. The maincompartment 210 may be surrounded by an inner surface of the outer wallstructure 230 and the outer surface of the inner wall structure 240. Thestorage compartment 220 may be surrounded by the inner surface of theinner wall structure 240. The inner wall structure 240 may have acylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 1B, but other shapes are alsocontemplated as noted above.

FIG. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3I, 3J, 3K, 3L and 3M show variousviews of a liquid container 300 and its parts, constructed according tothe principles of the disclosure. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of theliquid container 300. FIG. 3B is a side view of the liquid container 300of FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C is a side cut view of the liquid container 300 ofFIG. 3B, cut along the line A-A′. Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3Cconcurrently, the liquid container 300 may include a main body 400, atop cap 500, a bottom cap 600 and/or the like. In FIG. 3C, the main body400 of the liquid container 300 may have at least two separatecompartments (e.g., a main compartment 410, a storage compartment 420and/or the like), an outer wall structure 430, an inner wall structure440 and/or the like. The main compartment 410 and the storagecompartment 420 may be separated by the inner wall structure 440.

FIG. 3D shows a perspective view of the main body 400 show in FIGS. A,3B and 3C. FIG. 3E is a side view of the main body 400 shown in FIG. 3D,and FIG. 3F is a side cut view of the main body 400 of FIG. 3E, cutalong the line B-B′. Referring to FIGS. 3D, 3E and 3F concurrently, themain body 400 may further include a top opening 450, a bottom opening460, a group of horizontal grooves 432, screw threads 434 for engagingthe top cap 500, a horizontal groove 438 for engaging the bottom cap600, and/or the like. The group of horizontal grooves 432 may beprovided for easier grip. In FIG. 3F, the outer wall structure 430 mayhave an outer surface 430A and an inner surface 430B, and the inner wallstructure 440 may have an outer surface 440A and an inner surface 440B.The screw threads 434 may be formed on the outer surface 430A of theouter wall structure 430 at a top portion thereof near the top opening450. The bottom opening 460 may be formed at a bottom wall 436 of theexternal wall structure 436.

The inner wall structure 440 may be connected to the bottom wall 436around the bottom opening 460 and extend upwardly towards the topopening 450. A portion of the inner wall structure 440 near the bottomopening 460 may be larger than the rest of the inner wall structure 440to engage the bottom cap 600. The main compartment 410 may be surroundedby the inner surface 430B of the outer wall structure 430 and the outersurface 440A of the inner wall structure 440 and exposed by the topopening 450. The storage compartment 420 may surrounded by the innersurface 440B of the inner wall structure 440 and exposed by the bottomopening 460.

FIG. 3G shows the top cap 500 of the liquid container 300 shown in FIGS.3A, 3B and 3C. FIG. 3H is a side view of the top cap 500 shown in FIG.3G, and FIG. 3I is a side cut view of the top cap 500 of FIG. 3H, cutalong the line C-C′. Referring to FIGS. 3G, 3H and 3I concurrently, thetop cap 500 may include a base ring 510, a screw cap 520 and a tether530 and/or the like. The tether 530 may extend from the base 510 andpivotally connected to the screw cap 530 at the top center portionthereof by a rivet 532 such that the screw cap 530 may freely rotate toengage or disengage the main body 400. The base ring 510 may be attachedto main body 400 to surround the top portion thereof near the topopening 450 and to keep the screw cap 520 near the top opening 450 whenthe screw cap 520 is disengaged from the main body 400. The screw cap520 may have screw threads 522 at the inside surface thereof to engagethe screw threads 434 of the main body 400.

FIG. 3J shows the bottom cap 600 of the liquid container 300 shown inFIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, constructed according to the principles of thedisclosure. FIG. 3K is a side view of the bottom cap 600 shown in FIG.3J. FIG. 3L is a side cut view of the bottom cap 600 of FIG. 3 k, cutalong the line D-D′. FIG. 3M is a bottom view of the bottom cap 600shown in FIG. 3J. Referring to FIGS. 3J, 3K, 3L and 3M concurrently, thebottom cap 600 may include a bottom wall 610, an outer wall 620extending upwardly from the outer circumference of the bottom wall 610,an inner wall 630 extending upwardly from the inner circumference of thebottom wall 610 to encircle an opening 640 formed at a center portion ofthe bottom wall 610. As shown in FIG. 3M, the bottom cap 600 may furtherinclude a lid 650 for covering the opening 640. The lid 650 may beconnected to the bottom wall 610 via a tether 652. The bottom wall 610may further have a recess 654 at a portion adjoining the lid 650 suchthat a user may remove the lid 650 with his or her finger tip.

The bottom cap 600 may configured to engage the bottom portion of themain body 400. For example, the bottom wall 436 of the main body 400 andthe bottom cap 600 may be configured such that the bottom portion of themain body 400 may be fixed in a space between the outer wall 620 and theinner wall 630 of the bottom cap 600. Further, the outer wall 620 mayhave a rim 622 protruding inwardly from a top end portion thereof. Therim 622 may be formed to engage the horizontal groove 438 (see FIG. 3F)formed on the outer wall structure 430 such that the bottom cap 600 maynot come off easily from the main body 400. The inner wall 630 may beconfigured to be inserted into the bottom opening 460 of the main body400 and to surround the bottom opening 460 (see FIGS. 3C and 3F).

Accordingly, the liquid container of the disclosure may provide aninstant access to powdered mix, a liquid and a drink vessel. Also, byusing one or more pouches to store the powdered mix, the powdered mixmay stay fresh for an extended period of time and may be lesssusceptible to staleness and/or deterioration. Further, the liquidcontainer of the disclosure may be advantageous when it is necessary tostore two or more items in a single container and the two or more itemsneed to be separated for a certain period of time. Since the users mayuse the extra storage compartment to temporarily store necessary items,the users may not need to carry an extra bag in addition to the liquidcontainer. By configuring at least one of the inner and outer wallstructures to be translucent or opaque, the liquid container of thedisclosure may be used as a temporary safe for small items.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosurecan be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of theappended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative andare not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs,embodiments, applications or modifications of the disclosure.

1. A liquid container comprising: a first compartment configured to holda liquid; a second compartment separated from the first compartment; afirst wall structure surrounding the first compartment; a second wallstructure separating the second compartment from the first compartment;a first opening formed at a top portion of the liquid container andexposing the first compartment; a second opening formed at a bottomportion of the liquid container and exposing the second compartment; afirst cap configured to engage the top portion of the liquid containerto seal the first opening and the first compartment; and a second capconfigured to engage the bottom portion of the liquid container to sealthe second opening and the second opening.
 2. The liquid container ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second caps isre-sealable.
 3. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein each of thefirst and second caps is a tab, a crown cork, a screw cap, a pull-offcap, flip-top cap or a snap-fit cap.
 4. The liquid container of claim 1,wherein the first wall structure comprises a bottom wall, wherein thesecond opening is formed at the bottom wall.
 5. The liquid container ofclaim 4, wherein the second wall structure is connected to the firstwall structure at the bottom wall around the second opening.
 6. Theliquid container of claim 4, wherein the bottom wall is recessed.
 7. Theliquid container of claim 4, wherein the second cap substantiallyentirely covers the bottom wall of the liquid container.
 8. The liquidcontainer of claim 4, wherein the second opening has a triangular,square, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal,circular or elliptical shape.
 9. The liquid container of claim 4,wherein the second wall structure has a spherical, cubical, prism,cylindrical, conical or pyramid shape.
 10. The liquid container of claim1, wherein the second compartment is configured to store one or morepouches containing powdered mix.
 11. A liquid container comprising: anouter wall structure having a first opening and a second opening; aninner wall structure connected to the outer wall structure at the secondopening; a liquid compartment surrounded by an inner surface of theouter wall structure and an outer surface of the inner wall structureand exposed by the first opening; and a storage compartment surroundedby an inner surface of the inner wall structure and exposed by thesecond opening.
 12. The liquid container of claim 11, wherein the firstopening is formed at a top portion of the outer wall structure and thesecond opening is formed at a bottom portion of the outer wallstructure.
 13. The liquid container of claim 12, further comprises: afirst cap configured to engage the top portion of the outer wallstructure to seal the first opening; and a second cap configured toengage the bottom portion of the outer wall structure to seal the secondopening.
 14. The liquid container of claim 13, wherein at least one ofthe first and second caps is re-sealable.
 15. The liquid container ofclaim 13, wherein the bottom portion of the outer wall structurecomprises a bottom wall, wherein the second opening is formed at thebottom wall.
 16. The liquid container of claim 15, wherein the bottomwall is recessed.
 17. The liquid container of the claim 15, wherein thesecond cap substantially entirely covers the bottom wall.
 18. The liquidcontainer of claim 15, wherein the inner wall structure is connected tothe outer wall structure at the bottom wall around the second opening.19. The liquid container of claim 18, wherein the inner wall structureis spaced apart from the outer wall structure except for the connectiontherebetween at the bottom wall around the second opening.
 20. Theliquid container of claim 11, wherein the storage compartment isconfigured to store one or more pouches containing powdered mix.